Background and aims: Post-exercise recovery strategies include massage, low-intensity active exercise, thermal contrast, hydration, and nutritional and herbal approaches. These strategies aim to accelerate recovery, enhance performance, and optimise the physical training process. L-arginine (L-ARG) is the physiological precursor of nitric oxide (NO), a crucial mediator of vasodilation and the inhibition of platelet aggregation. A previous study reported that L-ARG supplementation could significantly reduce the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). This study aimed to investigate the effects of L-ARG on autonomic and cardiovascular recovery immediately following submaximal exercise.
Methods and results: Thirty-two healthy individuals were subjected to two experimental protocols. The first protocol included 60 min of rest, a treadmill warm-up, and load increments until reaching 80% of their maximum HR. Before this protocol, the subjects consumed 3 g of starch (placebo protocol). The second protocol was identical, but the subjects consumed 3 g of L-ARG. Heart rate recovery (HRR), heart rate variability (HRV), and blood pressure (BP) responses were assessed. No significant differences in HRR were found (p = 0.944) regarding the root mean square of successive differences in the RR interval (RMSSD30) of HRV (p = 0.562) or in the BP responses (mean arterial pressure (MAP), p = 0.687; pulse pressure (PP), p = 0.929) between the protocols.
Conclusions: L-ARG supplementation did not significantly alter immediate post-exercise autonomic recovery in healthy males.
Keywords: arginine; autonomic nervous system; exercise; nitric oxide and post-exercise recovery techniques.